After breaking a Norris Aquatics Center pool record in the first event of the TYR Invitational, Northwestern set two new pool records en route to a fifth straight tournament victory Friday through Sunday.
Senior Emily Wong was the star of the meet, beating a nine-year pool record twice on day one. Her 22.77 in the preliminary heats and a 22.79 in the finals of the 50-yard freestyle both bested Courtney Allen’s 22.93 record time set in 2000.
Wong was also involved in the relay quartets that broke the 200- and 800-yard freestyle pool records.
In the end, the Wildcats took the tournament with a comfortable margin. Their 1,375 points were 620 points ahead of second-placed Iowa State’s tally.
The five relays were particularly important to NU’s wide margin of victory. Relays were worth 40 points each compared to 20 points for first place in individual events. The Cats took the top spot in all of them, marking NCAA ‘B’ cut times for all but one race.
“Relays are probably the biggest emphasis we have with our team this year,” coach Jimmy Tierney said. “We definitely have talent in all distances, all strokes … (Depth) is certainly one of our strengths.”
With a roster of 35 women – the largest squad ever – the team’s depth showed in the relays. Ten different swimmers were involved in the five winning relay teams.
All five relays had a common member – Wong. Carrying her stellar season form into the tournament, she helped win the relays. Her two individual events also made the NCAA ‘B’ cuts.
“She’s a very talented swimmer and certainly our best sprinter right now,” Tierney said. “She’s certainly going to be a key on these relays and we’re pretty thrilled because she’s looking great.”
Wong played her part in the team’s pursuit of as many NCAA ‘B’ cut times as possible.
Although the Cats didn’t reach the high bar of 15 ‘B’ cuts Tierney was looking for, the nine they achieved eclipsed the four ‘B’ cuts of the other competitors combined.
Three of the other schools’ cuts were made by Iowa State’s senior Nan Liu. A talented athlete, Tierney said he expects Liu to make a big difference for Iowa State’s program.
“It’s exciting for them to have an athlete of that level that can do something maybe bigger than some of the athletes they’ve had in the last couple of years,” Tierney said.
Liu’s three ‘B’ cut times from individual events surpassed NU senior Kassia Shishkoff’s and Wong’s two apiece.
Meanwhile, Big Ten Swimmer of the Week Felicitas Lenz took the 1- and 3-meter springboard, earning NU maximum points.
Besides the leading performers, other swimmers played big parts in NU’s triumph.
“There are a number of people that stepped up,” Tierney said. “Caitlin Masney ended up being a huge part of the 400 and 800 free relays.”
Also citing the likes of freshman Taylor Reynolds, sophomore Beth Loe, and juniors Alex Kraus and Liza Engstrom, Tierney reiterated his point on the squad’s depth.
“We have so many swimmers that are talented and are willing to do whatever we ask,” he said.
Kenyon College assistant coach Ashley Bottger said she was happy with this year’s TYR Invitational turnout
“It was a great opportunity for the women to come out and swim different teams that they haven’t been swimming,” Bottger said. “We’re the only Division III team here and to swim against competition like this is pretty special.”
Tierney said he was pleased with the outcome and hopes the Cats can build off the win and use it as preparation for future tournaments.
“It’s a little bit of a warm up for the Big Ten Championships which has a similar format,” he said. “The girls raced hard and I think put great effort into this weekend.”[email protected]
